Daily Edition

Josh Duggar's Father Said Incest Should Be Punishable by Death in 2002 Campaign

Jim Bob Duggar said this during the period of time when his son allegedly molested younger girls, including his sisters.

The Duggar family, of 19 Kids and Counting fame, has been under the microscope for the past week following allegations that Josh Duggar sexually molested young girls, including his sisters, as a teenager. Now, a statement Josh's father, Jim Bob Duggar, made about incest — written during the same time period when Josh allegedly molested his sisters — has surfaced.

While running for U.S. Senate in 2002, Jim Bob spoke about abortion in the case of rape and incest on his campaign website. He said incest should be punishable by death.

"Rape and incest represent heinous crimes and as such should be treated as capital crimes," wrote Jim Bob.

Jim Bob's platform was expressed in 2002, and Josh allegedly assaulted the young girls in 2002-2003.

Josh Duggar has apologized since for acting "inexcusably," and both Jim Bob and wife Michelle issued a statement saying: "That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before."